The 13-Year-Old Disrupting a $50 Billion Luxury Industry with AI - Gabe Fiascone | Ep. 158

What happens when a 13-year-old is told he’s "stone cold crazy" for wanting a $200 bottle of cologne? He builds an artificial intelligence company to disrupt the entire industry. In this episode, Ezekiel Iferia sits down with Gabe Fiascone, the teenage co-founder of Essence By You.Summary:Gabe shares the fascinating origin story of Essence By You, launched by four 13-year-olds in Chicago. We explore how they use a 20-question AI quiz to create fully customized, made-to-order scents based on a user’s personality, mood, and lifestyle. Gabe pulls back the curtain on the luxury fragrance market, revealing the shockingly low cost of production compared to retail prices, and explains how they use AI prompts to automate complex scent architecture.We also dive into the science and psychology of scent, covering top, heart, and base notes, the impact of individual skin chemistry, and why smell is intimately wired to memory. Finally, Gabe offers inspiring advice for young entrepreneurs and defines innovation as using technology as a toolkit to advance progression.In this episode, you’ll discover:* The "stone cold crazy" moment that sparked the idea for Essence By You.* The shockingly low cost to produce "juice" for luxury fragrance brands.* The technical logic: Using prompts to automate the 20-question custom quiz and flavor note architecture.* What happens inside a kitchen counter scent lab.* The science of top, heart, and base notes and the impact of individual skin chemistry.* The psychology of scent: How smell is directly wired to memory and emotion.* The future of Essence By You and the trend of personalization for Gen Z.* Gabe's advice for young entrepreneurs on finding a problem to solve and not fearing failure.* Kacper’s definition of innovation: Making existing processes more efficient and making work or life more satisfaction.Connect with Gabe Fiascone & Essence By You:* Website: https://www.essencebyyou.com/Chapter Timestamps00:00 Welcome Gabe Fiascone: Co-founder of Essence By You01:05 The Origin Story: Why $200 Cologne Started it All02:58 Kitchen Counter Lab: How 13-Year-Olds Figure Out Scent Chemistry03:59 How the 20-Question AI Quiz creates personalized scents05:17 Technical Development: Non-Geniuses using Prompts to build AI07:02 The Science of Scent: Top Notes, Base Notes, and Skin Chemistry08:18 Smell, Memory, and Emotion: Reliving Experiences through Scents09:47 BETRAYED: Discovering Luxury Perfume only costs a few dollars to make11:58 Ask an Expert: Workshop Apothecary and Human Verification15:26 A fleet window: Take advantage of AI or get stuck on the receiving end16:55 The future of Essence By You and the Gen Z trend of customization20:24 Advice for young entrepreneurs: Find a problem, solve it, and don’t fear failure22:54 What Does Innovation Truly Mean to You?24:37 Take the custom scent quiz and learn the story